THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works yesterday announced that it is inquiring into a proposal from the Department of Defence for the replacement aviation refuelling vehicles infrastructure.

The JP157 infrastructure project will deliver new and upgraded facilities to support the replacement and future aviation refuelling fleets. The Department of Defence proposes to undertake a range of works across 15 sites ranging from bunding works, fuel treatment system works, shelters, hardstand and access works, fencing and contamination works as required.

The estimated cost of the project is $40.4 million.

It is anticipated that the Committee will conduct public and in-camera hearings for the inquiry in January/February 2018. Further information on the public hearing will be available soon.

Full details on the project are available on the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/pwc

The Committee would like to hear from all individuals or organisations interested in the inquiry.

Submissions will be accepted until 25 January 2018.

NB: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is neither involved in the tendering process nor the awarding of contracts. Enquiries on those matters should be addressed to the Department of Defence.

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THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works yesterday announced that it is inquiring into a proposal from the Department of Defence for the Engine Test Cell 1 Upgrade at RAAF Base Amberley.

The purpose of this project is to establish a fit-for-purpose engine test facility that satisfies both the ongoing Super Hornet and Growler and the new F-35 engine testing needs. The engine test facility at RAAF Base Amberley is Australia’s largest fast jet engine test facility and this project will extend the existing functionality to enable efficient kitting and testing of the Super Hornet, Growler and F-35 engines.

The estimated cost of the project is $23.7 million.

It is anticipated that the Committee will conduct public and in-camera hearings for the inquiry in January/February. Further information on the public hearing will be available soon.

Full details on the project are available on the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/pwc

The Committee would like to hear from all individuals or organisations interested in the inquiry.

Submissions will be accepted until 25 January 2018.

NB: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is neither involved in the tendering process nor the awarding of contracts. Enquiries on those matters should be addressed to the Department of Defence.

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THE Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade has tabled the final report for the Committee’s inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia.

The Committee’s report, Hidden in Plain Sight, makes 49 recommendations to improve Australia’s efforts to combat modern slavery here and around the world. Latest estimates suggest that over 40 million people around the world, including 4300 in Australia, are victims of some form of modern slavery, which includes human trafficking, slavery, debt bondage, forced labour and other slavery-like practices.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government introduce a Modern Slavery Act in Australia similar to but improving on the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Committee recommends that the proposed Act should establish an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and supply chain reporting requirements for entities operating in Australia. The Committee further recommends improvements to:

• support for victims (including a national compensation scheme);
• criminal justice responses (including training for frontline officials); and
• protections for workers vulnerable to exploitation (including changes to Australia’s visa framework and establishing a national labour hire licensing scheme).

The Committee heard particular concerns about ‘orphanage trafficking’ and also recommends a range measures to ensure that Australians do not perpetuate the exploitation of children in overseas orphanages through donations or tourism. This includes establishing a register of approved orphanages and a national awareness campaign on the risks of orphanage trafficking.

Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub‑Committee, Mr Chris Crewther MP, said that “modern slavery describes some of the greatest crimes our time".

“This report highlights that modern slavery is often ‘hidden in plain sight’ across a range of industries in Australia and in the global supply chains of businesses and organisations operating here. An Australian Modern Slavery Act, as recommended by this report, will make a significant contribution to ensuring that, here in Australia, we are doing all we can to combat these crimes,” Mr Crewther said.  

The report is available from the Committee’s website: www.aph.gov.au/modernslavery.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today presented its Third Report on reforming the Australian banking sector.

The report builds on the suite of important reforms previously recommended by the committee, which have been broadly adopted by the Government.

Key reforms to date include putting in place a one-stop shop for consumer complaints, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority; a regulated Banking Executive Accountability Regime; and, new powers and resources for the ACCC to investigate competition issues in the setting of interest rates.

The Government also adopted the committee's recommendations to establish an open data regime and change the regulatory requirement for bank start-ups in order to encourage more competition in the sector.

The Committee’s Third Report makes the following recommendations to Government:

• If the banks do not act by 1 April 2018, regulatory action should be taken to ensure that merchants have the choice of how to process “tap and go” payments on dual network cards.  At present merchants are forced to process these transactions through schemes such as Visa and MasterCard rather than eftpos.  It is estimated that this forced processing costs merchants hundreds of millions of dollars in additional annual fees at present;
• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, as a part of its inquiry into residential mortgage products, should assess the repricing of interest-only mortgages that occurred in June 2017;
• The Government should introduce legislation to mandate the banks’ participation in Comprehensive Credit Reporting as soon as possible; and
• The Attorney-General should review the major banks’ threshold transaction reporting obligations in light of the issues identified in the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s (AUSTRAC) case against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Committee Chair David Coleman MP said "the Committee continues to hold the major banks to account during these regular hearings.  We look forward to the Government’s response to the Committee’s new recommendations."

The report can be accessed from the Committee’s website. 

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